'Princesses' Survives Shaky Premise

The name of this comedy makes you want to check the calendar - not for the year, the century.

Except for the one in Buckingham Palace, didn't princesses go out of style about the same time as catapults and chain mail?

Now consider that these princesses live in present-day New York City, and you realize what a stretch Princesses asks us to make.

But if you can swallow the notion that a rent-free penthouse apartment and, maybe someday, a Prince Charming to go with it is the ultimate fairy tale of three modern women, this may be your cup of International Coffees.

Once the goofily anachronistic premise is up and running, Princesses delivers some of the verve and comic crackle missing from Designing Women since Delta Burke left.

Through an incredible chain of events, three totally dissimilar single woman end up sharing a palatial penthouse owned by an unseen male benefactor.

Georgina (former model Twiggy Lawson) actually claims to be an English princess, arriving at the apartment in riding habit and mistaking her future roommates for ''the help.''

Julie Hagerty plays remedial English teacher Tracy, who needs to chill out. But the princess who makes this castle hum is Fran Drescher and her headlong portrayal of Melissa, the classic Jewish American Princess.